Mobile conveyor system

ABSTRACT

Concrete or similar material requiring controlled placement is discharged from delivery trucks into a receiving hopper normally resting on the ground. The concrete is conveyed from the receiving hopper to the front end of a truck-mounted, open-top surge hopper via an elevatable, inclined supply conveyor which extends over the top of the truck cab. The concrete is discharged into the surge hopper through a deflector which prevents separation of heavier materials. An agitator inside the surge hopper re-mixes the concrete and/or moves the concrete towards a gate-metered, discharge opening at the rear of the hopper. The surge hopper can be tilted without interference between the deflector and supply conveyor, by hydraulically-actuated rams to dump the concrete through the discharge opening when higher discharge rates are desired. The concrete is distributed for pouring by a discharge conveyor or chute pivotally mounted on the rear of the truck. The discharge conveyor can be swung through 180* by a hydraulically actuated sprocket and chain arrangement. The discharge conveyor can be also elevated by hydraulically actuated rams. When a longer discharge conveyor is used, it is provided with foldable side rails and is moved to a folded position for transit by a hydraulically actuated ram.

United States Patent 1 1 Maxon, III

[ Feb. 18,1975

[75] Inventor:

[52} US. Cl 259/161, 259/171, 259/172 [51] int. Cl 8280 5/14, B28c 5/42, B28c 7/06 [58] Field of Search 259/161, 162, 163, 164, 259/165,169,l70,171,172,178

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 675,036 5/1901 Drake 259/161 2,880,977 4/1959 Maxon 259/171 3,612,491 10/1971 McKillop 259/161 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,562,083 2/1969 France 259/172 Primary Examiner-Harvey C. Hornsby Assistant ExaminerPhilip R. Coe

[57] ABSTRACT Concrete or similar material requiring controlled placement is discharged from delivery trucks into a receiving hopper normally resting on the ground. The concrete is conveyed from the receiving hopper to the front end of a truck-mounted, open-top surge hopper via an elevatable, inclined supply conveyor which extends over the top of the truck cab. The concrete is discharged into the surge hopper through a deflector which prevents separation of heavier materials. An agitator inside the surge hopper re-mixes the concrete and/or moves the concrete towards a gate-metered, discharge opening at the rear of the hopper. The surge hopper can be tilted without interference between the deflector and supply conveyor, by hydraulicallyactuated rams to dump the concrete through the discharge opening when higher discharge rates are desired. The concrete is distributed for pouring by a discharge conveyor or chute pivotally mounted on the rear of the truck. The discharge conveyor can be swung through 180 by a hydraulically actuated sprocket and chain arrangement. The discharge conveyor can be also elevated by hydraulically actuated rams. When a longer discharge conveyor is used, it is provided with foldable side rails and is moved to a folded position for transit by a hydraulically actuated ram.

5 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTED FEB 1 81975 SHEEI 1 MOBILE CONVEYOR SYSTEM BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION During various construction operations, such as the construction of buildings, dams, road beds and the like, it is often difficult to coordinate the actual placement, concrete, sand, aggregate, etc. with the supply being delivered to the construction site. A slow down or unexpected halt in the placement of the material can cause a back up of the supply trucks waiting to discharge their loads. Such delays are costly.

The rate at which the material is being placed may at times exceed the delivery rate capability of the supply trucks. This is especially true where the supply trucks are required to maneuver into restricted or difficult-toreach positions before their loads can be discharged. The supply of material, and thus its placement, is inter rupted while an empty truck is being moved away and the next one is being moved into position for unloading. These interruptions can result in considerable loss of placement time.

Various belt conveyors have been developed which are capable of receiving concrete or similar materials at an easy-to-reach location and conveying it to a remote point of final use (e.g. pouring a slab on the ground, pouring floors of a multi-story building, etc.). When this technique is used, it is particularly desirable to maintain a continuous supply of material to the conveyor and to be able to halt the supply if placement has to be stopped for any reason.

In an attempt to overcome these problems, it has been proposed to provide an intermediate holding means or a surge hopper into which the concrete is discharged from the supply trucks. The concrete can be discharged from this intermediate holding means at the rate desired for placement. If placement of the concrete is held up momentarily, trucks can continue discharging their load to the intermediate holding means without delay until it is filled to capacity. The placement of material can be continued for some time from the reserve supply held in the intermediate means when there is an interruption in delivery by the supply trucks. Thus, placement of material can be carried out continuously, or interrupted as required, somewhat independent of the delivery rate by the supply trucks.

US. Pat. No. 3,612,491 discloses an example of intermediate holding means proposed by the prior art. The means disclosed by this patent includes a conventional rotating-drum, transit mixer and a conveyor which feeds concrete from the supply trucks into the discharge end of the drum. The concrete introduced into the drum from the conveyor can be temporarily held or simultaneously discharged through a discharge chute for placement. Although capable of accommodating surges in supply, this intermediate holding means has several shortcomings.

If the concrete is being discharged from the drum for placement at the same time the conveyor is charging, rotation of the drum in the discharge direction piles material at the discharge end and restricts the charging. Also, the incoming concrete is effectively delivered directly to the discharge chute without entering the drum. Therefore, any segregation of heavier materials, which might occur during transit, is not rectified because the concrete is delivered directly to the point of use without being re-mixed in the drum. Also, the concrete discharged from the drum is not likely to be the first delivered to the drum. Furthermore, the closed drum makes it difficult to determine the quality and quantity of concrete in the drum by visual inspection.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The mobile conveyor system described in the Abstract of the Disclosure provides a temporary holding station which minimizes the effects of the unavoidable lack of complete coordination between the delivery and distribution of materials. The open-top, surge hopper provides a maximum reservoir volume within legal width and heigh requirements for a truck mounted unit which can be moved over the road. It also permits ready visual inspection of the quality and quantity of the load contained therein.

Although capable of handling any material which can be conveyed, the system is particularly advantageous for pouring pre-mixed concrete. The truck-mounted system can be moved over the road to and from construction sites and can be readily positioned at easy-toreach locations at the site. It can be expeditiously moved to different locations at the site as construction progresses. Since the concrete is charged to the front end of the surge hopper, it is always subjected to the remixing action of the agitator before being discharged for pouring. Any segregation or stratification of heavier materials, which may occur during transit from the primary mixing facility, is thereby rectified. Thus, various types of hauling bodies, including dump trucks, can be used for transporting the premixed concrete to the construction site. The deflector, which is demountable so it can be removed when other materials are being handled, prevents segregation of the heavier materials as the concrete is being discharged into the surge hopper. The auger action of the agitator moving the concrete from the front to the rear of the hopper assures the contractor and specifying agency that the concrete first delivered to the site is the first poured.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the mobile conveyor FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the mobile conveyor system.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary, side elevational view of the mobile conveyor system.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view taken along the plane designated 44 in FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The mobile conveyor system includes a truckmounted surge hopper 12, a supply conveyor 14 and a discharge conveyor 16. Open-top hopper 12 acts as a temporary holding receptacle for the material requiring controlled placement. Although adaptable for use with a wide variety of materials capable of being conveyed, such as concrete, sand, gravel, grains and the like, the mobile conveying system is particularly advantageous for handling pre-mixed concrete and will be described for this use.

Hopper 12 is pivotally mounted on two sets of A- frame members 18, 20 (one shown) at 22, which are mounted to truck chassis 24. Hopper 12 has a conically-shaped bottom 26, which slopes upwardly and rearwardly and converges towards rear discharge opening 28, normally closed by a gate 30. Vertical side walls 32,

extending upwardly from the bottom, also converge toward the discharge opening so that, when viewed in side elevation, the hopper has an appearance resembling a truncated cone. Both the bottom and side walls are joined to a front wall 34 which slopes upwardly and forwardly from the front end of the bottom.

Gate is carried by a pair of arms 36 which embrace the rear portion of the side walls and are pivotally mounted thereon at 38. Gate 30 is swung up and down to regulate the size of the discharge opening, and thereeby meter the flow of concrete discharged from the hopper, by a pair of hydraulically actuated rams 40 (one shown). Hopper 12 can be tilted clockwise from its normal position by a pair of hydraulically actuated rams 44 (one shown).

As shown in FIG. 2, an agitator 48 is rotatably mounted inside the hopper. Agitator 48 is rotated to re-mix concrete held in the hopper so that any segregation or stratification which may have occurred during transit is rectified. Of course, when dry materials (e.g. sand) are being handled, the agitator does not have to be rotated for this purpose. Agitator 48 has an elongated propeller shaft 50 which carries a plurality of spaced and angularly offset radial arms 52, each of which carry a paddle 54 on the outer end. The forward end of shaft 50 extends through and is journaled in front wall 34 and the rear end is journaled to the rear portion of the hopper near discharge opening 28. Shaft 50 is rotated by sprocket 56 mounted to its forward end, which is driven via chain 58 by a hydraulic motor 60. The hydraulic motor is operated by a conventional hydraulic system mounted on the truck, which operates all hydraulically actuated components. This system includes a pump (not shown) driven by the power take off shaft of the truck (not shown).

The outer edge of paddles 54 are convex and radial arms 52 are dimensioned so that the paddles sweep closely along the rounded interior surface of the bottom of the hopper during rotation of the agitator shaft. Paddles 54 are inclined in a manner to impart an auger action on the concrete in the hopper, as the agitator shaft is rotated in one direction, and thus moves the concrete towards discharge opening 28. Concrete is discharged from the hopper through discharge opening 28 onto discharge conveyor 16. For higher discharge rates, hopper 12 is tilted (as shown by dashed lines FIG. 3) by extending rams 44 so that the concrete is dumped through the discharge opening.

Discharge opening 16, which can be any conventional type capable of transporting concrete, includes a pair of side rails 62 and a head pulley 64 and a tail pulley (not shown) mounted between the side rails at the forward end and rear ends, respectively. A flexible conveyor belt 66 is trained about the head and tail pulleys and is operated over a series of spaced troughing idlers (not shown) in a conventional manner. Conveyor belt 66 is driven by the head pulley, which in turn is driven by a hydraulic motor (not shown) connected ,into the truck hydraulic system. Concrete is discharged from the conveyor belt through downspout 68 which is arranged to baffle the discharging concrete so that the heavier materials do not separate.

The front or charge end of the discharge conveyor is pivotally mounted on a pair of brackets 70 which are carried by a sprocket 72. Sprocket 72 is connected to a shaft 74 which is journaled in and extends through housing 76, which in turn is mounted to A-frame members 20. The discharge end of discharge conveyor 16 is raised and lowered by a hydraulically actuated ram 78 which is connected between the conveyor and collar 80, which is rigidly connected to the lower end of shaft 74. Discharge conveyor 16 is swung transversely through a 180 are about shaft 74 by a pair of hydraulically actuated rams 82, which are connected at one end to the opposite ends of a chain 84 (which drives sprocket 72) and at the other end to A-frame members 18. The ram cylinders are connected into the truck hydraulic system so that one is retracted as the other is being extended. Hence, the discharge conveyor can be moved to various desired positions within the 180 arc, even while concrete is being poured if desired. The discharge end of the discharge conveyor also can be raised so that concrete can be poured directly into elevated forms, thereby eliminating the necessity of using a crane bucket or an auxiliary conveyor.

For longer discharge conveyors, side rails 62 are hinged at 86 so the conveyor can be folded (as shown in FIG. 1) for transit. The rear portion 88 of the discharge conveyor is moved to the folded position by a hydraulically actuated ram 90, which is connected between the discharge conveyor at 92 and lever arm 94, which in turn is pivotally attached to the conveyor at 96. As ram is extended, lever arm 94 is rotated about its pivot 96 and raises the rear portion of the dis-' charge conveyor toward the folded position via pivot arms 98, as shown in FIG. 1. The discharge conveyor is preferably demountable from brackets 70 and ram 78 so it can be removed and, if desired, replaced by a conventional discharge chute.

Concrete is supplied to hopper 12 by inclined conveyor 14, which extends over the front of the truck cab 102. The upper end of supply conveyor 14 is pivotally mounted at 104 to upright frame 106 which is mounted to truck chassis 24 in front of the hopper. The supply conveyor, which can be any conventional type of conveyor capable of transporting concrete, includes a pair of side rails 108 and a head pulley 110 and a tail pulley (not shown) mounted between the side rails at the upper and lower ends, respectively. A flexible conveyor belt 112 is trained about the head and tail pulleys and is operated over a series of spaced troughing idlers (not shown) in a conventional manner. Conveyor belt 112 is driven by the head pulley which in turn is driven by a hydraulic motor (not shown) connected into the truck hydraulic system.

Concrete can be discharged from delivery trucks into a receiving hopper 114 which is mounted to the lower end of the supply conveyor. Receiving hopper 114 has a wide mouth capable of accepting loads from a wide variety of hauling means, such as dump trucks, transit concrete mixers and the like. The lower end of the supply conveyor is supported by feet 116 which rest on the ground or other support means. The supply conveyor can be elevated to accommodate different grades or for transit by hydraulically-actuated ram 118. Ram 118 is connected between frame member 120 located on the front of the truck and linkage arrangement 122 which in turn is pivotally mounted to the supply conveyor. As ram 118 is extended, the conveyor is elevated as shown in FIG. 1. Ram 118 and linkage 122 are arranged so that the conveyor can be elevated high enough to provide unobstructed forward vision for the driver when the truck is moved. The supply conveyor is preferably demountable so it can be easily removed when it is desired to use the truck for hauling.

Concrete is discharged from the upper end of conveyor belt 112 through hooded deflector 124 which is connected to the top of the front wall 34 of hopper 12. The concrete falling off the end of the conveyor strikes the deflector and is deflected downwardly into the hopper (as shown by the arrow in FIG. 1) so that the heavier materials do not separate. The deflector is positioned on front wall 34 with sufficient clearance from the upper end of the conveyor so that either the hopper or the conveyor can be raised or lowered without interference between the deflector and conveyor. Deflector 124 is preferably demountable so it can be easily removed when dry materials are being handled or the truck is to be used for hauling. The truck hydraulic system includes a conventional shut off valve (not shown) which stops flow of hydraulic fluid to the motor driving head pulley 110 (and hence stops the supply conveyor) any time surge hopper 12 is hoisted.

Tank 126, mounted to the side of the truck chassis, holds a supply of water which is used for thinning the concrete when necessary and for washing out the equipment during clean up operations.

In operation, the truck is driven to the construction site, either empty or with a full load, and is positioned for placement of the concrete. The supply conveyor is positioned to receive concrete from the delivery vehicles. When empty or partially empty, a delivery truck can discharge its entire load into the receiving hopper in one continuous operation. The concrete is held in the surge hopper and re-mixed by the agitator until discharged through gate 30 onto discharge conveyor 16. Preferably, the capacity of hopper 12 is greater than that of the trucks delivering the concrete. This permits the delivery truck to discharge its entire load without delay, even though there is a temporary interruption in the pouring. Since hopper 12 holds a reserve supply of concrete, pouring can be continued without interruption even though there is a temporary delay between delivery trucks. For some operations, such as laying a road bed, it is necessary to frequently change positions as the pouring progresses. This operation is easily accomplished by simply raising the supply conveyor and moving the truck forward or backward, as required. If desired, pouring can be continued while the truck is being moved.

1 claim:

1. A mobile conveyor system for receiving and distributing a material including components of different weights, such as concrete, at a controllable rate comprising, in combination a truck having a chassis;

an open-top surge hopper mounted on said chassis for receiving and temporarily holding a quantity of the material, said surge hopper having a capacity sufficient to accommodate surges in supply of the material in excess of the desired rate of distribution and to accommodate a reserve supply of the material so distribution can be continued when there is a temporary interruption of supply of material to said hopper;

an upwardly inclined supply conveyor mounted on said truck for delivering material to the front end of said surge hopper, said supply conveyor having an upper end and a receiving hopper at the lower end which is adapted to receive material from delivery vehicles;

a deflector mounted on the top portion of said surge hopper and positioned adjacent the upper end of said supply conveyor such that material being discharged from the upper end of said supply conveyor strikes said deflector before falling downwardly toward said surge hopper, said deflector serving to baffle the material so that heavier components do not separate therefrom while being discharged into said surge hopper;

a discharge opening in the rear portion of said surge hopper;

an agitator including blade means which imparts an auger action on material held in said surge hopper to move the material rearwardly towards said discharge opening;

means for controlling the rate of which the material is discharged through said discharge opening;

means for tilting said surge hopper about a transverse axis adjacent the rear of said surge hopper to facilitate discharge of the material through said discharge opening, said deflector being sufficiently spaced from the upper end of said supply conveyor to permit said surge hopper to be tilted without interference with said supply conveyor; and

means mounted on the rear of said truck for distributing the material discharged through said discharge opening.

2. The combination according to claim 1 including an upright frame member mounted on said chassis in front of said surge hopper;

means pivotally mounting the upper end of said supply conveyor on the upper portion of said frame member for pivotal movement of said supply conveyor about an axis relative to said frame member; and

means supported from said chassis for raising and lowering the lower end of said supply conveyor by pivoting said supply conveyor about said axis.

3. The combination according to claim 1 wherein said distribution means is a discharge conveyor onto which the material is discharged from said discharge opening and includes means connected to said truck for swinging said discharge conveyor transversely through an arc; and

means connected to said truck for raising and lowering the outer end of said discharge conveyor.

4. A combination according to claim 3 wherein said discharge conveyor has side rails which are hinged at a point intermediate its ends so that an outer portion of said discharge conveyor can be folded over towards an inner portion to a folded position and includes means for moving said outer portion to a folded position.

5. A mobile conveyor system for receiving and distributing pre-mixed concrete at a controllable rate comprising, in combination a truck having a chassis;

an open-top surge hopper pivotally mounted on said chassis for receiving and temporarily holding a quantity of the concrete, said surge hopper having a capacity sufficient to accommodate surges in supply of the concrete in excess of the desired rate of distribution and to accommodate a reserve supply of the concrete so distribution can be continued UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFMTATE OF CORRECTION PATENT NO. 3,866,889

DATED i February 18, 1975 mvrnrord J 1 Glenway w. Maxon III It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

In thegrant (Only) at the end of claim 5, insert the following when there is a temporary interruption of supply of concrete to said hopper;

an upwardly inclined supply conveyor mounted on said truck for delivering concrete to the front end of said surge hopper, said supply conveyor having a receiving hopper at the lower end which is adapted to receive concrete from delivery vehicles;

a discharge opening in the rear portion of said surge hopper;

an agitator including blade means which imparts an auger action on concrete held in said surge hopper to move the concrete rearwardly towards said discharge opening;

means for controlling the rate of which the concrete is discharged through said discharge opening;

means for tilting said surge hopper about a transverse axis adjacent the rear of surge hopper to facilitate discharge of the concrete through said discharge opening;

a deflector mounted on the top portion of said surge hopper and positioned so concrete falling off the upper end of said supply conveyor strikes said deflector before falling into said surge hopper, said deflector serving to baffle the concrete so that the heavier components do not separate therefrom while being discharged into said surge hopper and being spaced from the upper end of said supply chamber to permit said surge hopper to be tilted without interference with said supply conveyor;

a discharge conveyor mounted on the rear of said truck for distributing the concrete discharged through said discharge opening;

means connected to said truck for swinging said discharge conveyor through a transverse arc; and

means connected to said truck for raising and lowering the outer end of said discharge conveyor.

Signed and Sealed this fourteenth Day Of October 1975 [SEAL] Arrest:

RUTH C. MASON C. MARSHALL DANN Arresting Officer Commissioner ofPatents and Trademarks 

1. A mobile conveyor system for receiving and distributing a material including components of different weights, such as concrete, at a controllable rate comprising, in combination a truck having a chassis; an open-top surge hopper mounted on said chassis for receiving and temporarily holding a quantity of the material, said surge hopper having a capacity sufficient to accommodate surges in supply of the material in excess of the desired rate of distribution and to accommodate a reserve supply of the material so distribution can be continued when there is a temporary interruption of supply of material to said hopper; an upwardly inclined supply conveyor mounted on said truck for delivering material to the front end of said surge hopper, said supply conveyor having an upper end and a receiving hopper at the lower end which is adapted to receive material from delivery vehicles; a deflector mounted on the top portion of said surge hopper and positioned adjacent the upper end of said supply conveyor such that material being discharged from the upper end of said supply conveyor strikes said deflector before falling downwardly toward said surge hopper, said deflector serving to baffle the material so that heavier components do not separate therefrom while being discharged into said surge hopper; a discharge opening in the rear portion of said surge hopper; an agitator including blade means which imparts an auger action on material held in said surge hopper to move the material rearwardly towards said discharge opening; means for controlling the rate of which the material is discharged through said discharge opening; means for tilting said surge hopper about a transverse axis adjacent the rear of said surge hopper to facilitate discharge of the material through said discharge opening, said deflector being sufficiently spaced from the upper end of said supply conveyor to permit said surge hopper to be tilted without interference with said supply conveyor; and means mounted on the rear of said truck for distributing the material discharged through said discharge opening.
 2. The combination according to claiM 1 including an upright frame member mounted on said chassis in front of said surge hopper; means pivotally mounting the upper end of said supply conveyor on the upper portion of said frame member for pivotal movement of said supply conveyor about an axis relative to said frame member; and means supported from said chassis for raising and lowering the lower end of said supply conveyor by pivoting said supply conveyor about said axis.
 3. The combination according to claim 1 wherein said distribution means is a discharge conveyor onto which the material is discharged from said discharge opening and includes means connected to said truck for swinging said discharge conveyor transversely through an arc; and means connected to said truck for raising and lowering the outer end of said discharge conveyor.
 4. A combination according to claim 3 wherein said discharge conveyor has side rails which are hinged at a point intermediate its ends so that an outer portion of said discharge conveyor can be folded over towards an inner portion to a folded position and includes means for moving said outer portion to a folded position.
 5. A mobile conveyor system for receiving and distributing pre-mixed concrete at a controllable rate comprising, in combination a truck having a chassis; an open-top surge hopper pivotally mounted on said chassis for receiving and temporarily holding a quantity of the concrete, said surge hopper having a capacity sufficient to accommodate surges in supply of the concrete in excess of the desired rate of distribution and to accommodate a reserve supply of the concrete so distribution can be continued when there is a temporary interruption of supply of concrete to said hopper; an upwardly inclined supply conveyor mounted on said truck for delivering concrete to the front end of said surge hopper, said supply conveyor having a receiving hopper at the lower end which is adapted to receive concrete from delivery vehicles; a discharge opening in the rear portion of said surge hopper; an agitator including blade means which imparts an auger action on concrete held in said surge hopper to move the concrete rearwardly towards said discharge opening; means for controlling the rate of which the concrete is discharged through said discharge opening; means for tilting said surge hopper about a transverse axia adjacent the rear of surge hopper to facilitate discharge of the concrete through said discharge opening; a deflector mounted on the top portion of said surge hopper and positioned so concrete falling off the upper end of said supply conveyor strikes said deflector before falling into said surge hopper, said deflector serving to baffle the concrete so that the heavier components do not separate therefrom while being discharged into said surge hopper and being spaced from the upper end of said supply chamber to permit said surge hopper to be tilted without interference with said supply conveyor; a discharge conveyor mounted on the rear of said truck for distributing the concrete discharged through said discharge opening; means connected to said truck for swinging said discharge conveyor through a transverse arc; and means connected to said truck for raising and lowering the outer end of said discharge conveyor. 